If you have doubts, then check it out. Nature is not kind and if you tend to
feel responsible for another man's actions then by all means.

Would you check out the obvious in this video if that person was alone far
offshore?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLNx2N0E8zw



"Roger Long" wrote in message
...
With all the armchair sailors here criticizing people who are actually out
sailing around in their boats, I think I'll take time for an account of a
sailor who is, or was, a real hazard to himself. I'm also doing some soul
searching about it.

I sailed my son around the Cape on Wednesday to drop him off for a hike
back through the towns' greenbelt trails. As we were leaving, we passed a
fairly competent looking double ender that was remarkable for jogging
along under only a half luffing staysail. I figured he was just getting
started and organized. The boat appeared well equipped and there was just
one person on deck.

On my return, I saw the boat again, still jogging along at about 1 knot
under just the staysail which appeared to be sheeted way too far aft so
that the foot was tight and the top half flogging. The boat had just
crossed a long dangerous ledge without running aground. It's a short cut I
often take but I know the waters and I don't do it when there is a sea
running like there was on Wednesday.

I thought briefly of going over to take a look but he was past the danger
and the occasional large seas breaking nearby certainly would have clued
him into not returning that way. It was one of those days that looks nasty
but generally doesn't have much wind. I decided he was just taking it easy
and enjoying the view. You could spend all afternoon sitting on a porch
watching the ocean so why not just jog along the coast at 1 knot if you
felt lazy? I also wanted to be home when my son returned and had another
home alone.

This morning, I read in the paper that a disoriented sailor was brought in
by the Coast Guard about 25 miles south the next day. I did some checking
and it was the same boat with the sole POB suffering the effects of
diabetes. He's home now and the boat is safe. He had been out in the heavy
rain and weather that brought a rare tornado watch to Maine.

I'm kicking myself now because, thinking back on how the boat was being
sailed, I'm sure he was impaired at the time I saw him and I probably
could have detected it if I'd gone over to check him out or tried to raise
him on the radio. It never occurred to me though that he might actually be
trying to go somewhere instead of just being out for a slow daysail. If he
had come to grief, I would be pretty torn up about it today.

OTOH how often is there any upside to hailing someone by voice or radio
and pointing out that they are sailing like a bozo and are they all right?
I learned later that he was swearing on the radio at some charter fishing
boats that inquired about him and that this behavior played a part in
instigating the SAR which involved both boats and aircraft.

Next time I see something like this, I'm sure I'll take a closer look but
I'm still not sure of the best way to handle it. It's a miracle that he
made it past the ledges off the cape and as far as he did.

--
Roger Long